North County school districts prepare for another year of budget hardship

NORTH COUNTY  Budget-strapped North County school districts are bracing for possible staff and teacher layoffs — and in some cases even more drastic measures — as they grapple with a fourth consecutive year of budget strife brought on by the Great Recession.

The fiscal year begins July 1, but most school districts must plan far in advance to meet a requirement to notify certificated employees — teachers and counselors — by March 15 that they could lose their jobs for the coming school year.

Unlike city governments, school districts rely heavily on state money to operate. The state pays districts thousands of dollars per student, called average daily attendance funding. So, the state’s budget problems have hammered schools.

Some districts are working on a minimum of two budget scenarios based on possible state budget outcomes. California faces a $26.6 billion budget deficit, and Gov. Jerry Brown wants the Legislature to approve a June special election that would allow voters to decide on a five-year extension of increases to state sales, income and vehicle taxes.

In some cases, deep cuts have already been made. For instance, Vista Unified trustees closed one of the district’s oldest elementary schools as part of a plan to shave $1 million from a budget hole that could be anywhere from $11 million to $19 million, depending on the outcome of Brown’s tax-extension plan.

“California school districts have made the most dramatic cuts to education spending in the nation,” said Vista Unified Superintendent Joyce Bales, whose district has already cut $50 million, nearly one-fourth of its budget, since 2007.

Carlsbad Unified School District

Along with cuts to spending, Carlsbad Unified has, to this point, used its reserves to keep a balanced budget. But those have now run dry.

The district will have to find another way to balance its budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Carlsbad Unified has about 10,000 students in 13 schools. The general fund expenditures are projected to be $82 million, about $2 million more than the district is expected to receive in revenue.

“That seems like a lot of money, but I think we can handle that without any serious changes to our programs,” said Superintendent John Roach. “We’re hoping to avoid laying anybody off. The more that we can do to maintain status quo in our programs and keep people working in this period, that’s better for the economy overall and certainly better for those employees.”

He said staffers will closely watch expenditures this year to look for money not to spend and look for ways to generate more revenue, though it is unlikely to increase significantly.

The school district is projecting a $7 million deficit for 2012-2013.

Nathan Scharn • u-t

Del Mar Union School District

The Del Mar Union, with its 4,300 students in eight elementary schools, is anticipating a $2.5 million to $3.5 million budget deficit next fiscal year, Superintendent James Peabody said.

The district had a total general fund budget of about $45 million as of Oct. 31, the latest figure available.

Del Mar Union is a basic aid district, meaning it receives funding through property taxes and not based on the amount of students. Peabody said last year that an unexpected 258 newcomers enrolled in Del Mar Union schools, causing the district to hire 11 teachers at about $90,000 each in salary and benefits.

Peabody said Del Mar Union has 31 temporary teachers, accounting for 25 full-time equivalent jobs. He said that while the district could eliminate one or two of those positions, it would try to keep everyone and reduce operational expenses as much as possible.

Peabody said the district would start its budget workshops in late April or early May.

Jonathan Horn • u-t

Encinitas Union School District

Superintendent Tim Baird said the district would have to cut about $2 million if Brown’s temporary tax extensions fail at the polls in June.

Encinitas Union, with its 5,500 students in nine elementary schools, also reduced its budget by roughly $4 million last year. The district has a total general fund budget of about $44 million. Its fiscal year begins July 1.

Baird said Encinitas Union has already increased class sizes in its second and third grades to 22 students. If Brown’s measure fails, the increase could also apply to kindergarten and first grade. Doing so would eliminate eight teaching positions at about $75,000 each.

Should Brown’s measure pass, Baird said the district would still be cost-conscious, but he does not anticipate any layoffs.

Voters in November passed a $44 million bond measure, Proposition P, but those funds are dedicated to infrastructure and technology and cannot be used for general fund expenses.

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Escondido Union School District

The school board is expected to take action Monday on proposed cuts and layoffs. District staff and board trustees have been discussing the budget for weeks in workshops and special meetings.

The district’s operating budget for this school year is roughly $152 million.

A best-case scenario budget — in which tax extensions are passed — would require $6.7 million in cuts, including 40 teacher layoffs. Other budget scenarios call for cuts of $10.8 million and $15.8 million, including 79 teacher layoffs.

Other moves under consideration to fill the budget gap include cutting office staff and library technician hours and raising class sizes. Last year, the district issued 84 layoff notices, and rescinded them a month later.

The district serves 18,000 students in 17 elementary and five middle schools.

Escondido Union High School District

The Escondido Union High School District board got its first look at budget projections at a workshop Feb. 8, where Superintendent Ed Nelson said district staff members were working on two budget scenarios that depend on the state budget.

Assistant Superintendent Barry Dragon said the district is working based on the presumption that the tax extensions do not pass. That would mean a $2.7 million impact on the district, including an average-daily attendance funding loss of $352 per student. If the tax extensions pass, the ADA loss would be about $22 per student.

The district’s operating budget for the current school year is $69.7 million.

Projections for the 2011-12 school year call for $2.4 million in cuts, including $1.2 million in permanent reductions such as layoffs. No specific layoff numbers had been identified

The district serves about 8,200 students at three comprehensive high schools and one continuation school, and more than 10,000 a year at Escondido Adult School.

Oceanside Unified School District

Oceanside Unified is one of handful of districts in the region that will not have to issue layoff notices to balance its budget for the upcoming fiscal year, said Luis Ibarra, the district’s chief business officer.

“We will be able to maintain status quo for at least one year,” Ibarra said.

The district is anticipating a $4.5 million budget surplus for the 2010-11 fiscal year’s $165 million budget, which will help offset the $6.6 million deficit the district forecasts for next year, Ibarra said.

A $3.7 million infusion from the federal stimulus bill and less than expected cuts from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s final budget buoyed the district’s financial outlook after it was hammered in 2009, when the district faced a $19 million budget gap. That budget hole was filled in part by employees, teachers and school district administrators agreeing to five furlough days for the following two years. Administrators also took a 5 percent pay cut.

If voters approve Brown’s tax plans, Ibarra said district officials might be able to negotiate a reduction of the furlough days with the district’s labor groups.

Oceanside Unified serves 19,000 students in 16 elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools and one continuation school.

Aaron Burgin • U-T

Poway Unified School District

Poway Unified expects to balance its budget for 2011-2012 fiscal year, which begins July 1, by pulling $17 million from its $20 million in reserves.

The district expects to receive $250 million in revenue for its general fund, but expenditures will outweigh revenue, prompting the district to reach for its reserves.

The move will prevent layoffs for teachers and certificated staff, such as school counselors, but other services may not survive the final draft of the district’s budget.

“Everything else is on the table, programs from bus services to everything else,” said district spokeswoman Sharon Raffer.

If voters don’t approve the tax extension, the district will deplete the remaining $3 million in reserves and will face a $25 million budget shortfall for 2012-2013. Because most of Poway Unified’s costs are staff-related, the budget balancing act would likely mean large-scale layoffs and increased class sizes for the district’s 34,000 students at 38 schools.

The budget situation is so dire that “2013-2014 is beyond comprehension,” Raffer said.

Nathan Scharn • u-t

Ramona Unified School District

Ramona Unified, a district with more than 6,000 students at 10 schools, will use reserve money to produce a balanced budget.

The district administration will endeavor to cut $2.1 million from the $50 million in anticipated expenditures in its general fund budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The school district expects revenues between $43 and 44 million, and will use $3.7 million of its reserves to stay out of the red. “Next year we’re going to drain everything down to the bare minimum,” said David Ostermann, Ramona Unified associate superintendent.

He said the district expects to issue layoff notices to teachers in March.

Ostermann is concerned that health insurance costs could rise dramatically next year.

The budget outlook for 2012-2013 is bleak, he said, and a significant deficit is projected.

“It’s just embarrassing the kind of big number it is,” Ostermann said.

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San Dieguito Union High School District

The district, with its 12,328 students in nine middle and high schools, is anticipating a $3 million budget reduction next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The district has a total general fund budget of $101,888,618, said Eric Dill, San Dieguito Union’s Associate Superintendent of Business Services.

District trustees laid off 10 nonteaching employees in July and reduced the hours of five others. The board also eliminated four other nonteaching positions. The district has proposed several cuts for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, including reductions of a share of its athletic department expenses, which Dill said is largely handled by boosters. He said the amount of counselors could also be reduced, as well as allowing students to take less than a full load of classes so long as they are on pace to graduate on time. Dill said the district would also save money when teachers retire because newcomers are hired at a lower pay rate.

Jonathan Horn • u-t

San Marcos Unified School District

The district must plan on a worst-case scenario budget ahead of the possible state special election in June, Superintendent Kevin Holt told the school board Feb. 2.

The operating budget for the current fiscal year is about $156 million.

If the tax extensions do not pass, the district expects to lose average-daily attendance funding of $349 per student.

Assistant Superintendent Gary Hamels said the district would have to borrow money for the first time in 10 years or so to make ends meet. Hamels said the district would have to make $13.4 million in cuts to have the minimum 3 percent balance in reserves.

School districts are legally required to maintain minimum cash reserves of 3 percent of the operating budget.

If the tax extensions fail, the district projects a budget of $140.6 million, Hamels said Monday. Expenditures before cuts are projected to be $147.5 million, he said. If the tax extensions pass, the amount of cuts needed could be reduced by about $6 million, Hamels said.

At the board meeting, Holt said “there’s not much left on the list” to cut.

The San Marcos district serves about 18,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade at 17 schools. It covers San Marcos and portions of Carlsbad, Escondido and Vista.

Michelle Breier • U-T

Vista Unified School District

The Vista Unified School District is faced with an $11 million gap between revenues and expenses in its $224 million operating budget, which could grow to as high as $19 million if Brown’s tax measure fails. Officials in the school system, which serves 23,147 students in 26 schools, have already begun taken measures to pare down the budget gap.

The district will tap $4 million of its dwindling reserves to help close the hole.

One of the more controversial measures to save money was a vote to close Crestview Elementary and to move Olive Elementary onto a middle school directly adjacent to it.

Like other districts, Vista is preparing two budget scenarios, depending on whether Brown’s tax plan passes. With the plan, the district expects to lose $349 from the $4,900 state average-daily attendance funding. Without it, the district could lose $800, ballooning the deficit to the $19 million mark.

District officials will meet March 10 to reveal further budget reducing measures.

Aaron Burgin • U-T

Children arrive at Crestview Elementary School in Vista on Tuesday morning for the start of classes. Vista trustees recently voted to close the school in an effort to reduce costs. It is one of the oldest schools in the district. CHARLIE NEUMAN • U-T photos

Students raise the Stars and Stripes and the state flag at Crestview in the morning. Besides closing Crestview, the district will move another elementary school onto a middle school campus.